Vintage Heuer Wristwatch Professional Quartz Night Diver 982.113 Pewter PVD

SPECIFICATION
Reference: Heuer 982.113
Movement: ESA 526.121 quartz
Age: circa 1980-1985
Case size: 38mm
Case Thickness: 13mm
Lug to Lug: 45mm
Lugs: 18mm
Condition: used Heuer watch
Box & Papers: No
Case Material: Pewter PVD
Warranty: 12-Months Warranty

POINTS TO MENTION

• In good pre-owned condition with signs of wear
• Case and bezel has some scratches and marks
• Night diver fully lumed dial
• Bezel insert in fantastic condition
  
• Pewter PVD coated case and bracelet
• Serviced movement
• New battery fitted
• Screw lock crown
• Paired with a new stainless steel jubilee bracelet that fits up to a 7 1/2 inch wrist

When people talk about vintage Heuer, it's usually the iconic chronographs, like the Autavia, Carrera, or Monaco, that steal the spotlight. Stories of rare, record-setting models seem to pop up all the time. But there's one watch that had a huge impact on Heuer’s history and still flies under the radar. Its success came as a surprise and arrived just when the company needed it most. As Jack Heuer himself put it, “We could not imagine that this model would be the very watch that was to help the company recover.”

THE NIGHT DIVER

The Heuer 982.113 is a particularly interesting vintage Heuer diver, and one of the more unusual early members of the Heuer 1000 series. It dates from around the mid 80s and is known among collectors as the “Night Diver” because of its distinctive full-lume dial.

The standout feature is the entirely luminous dial. Rather than simply having lume on the hands and hour markers, virtually the whole dial is designed to glow, giving the watch its unmistakable appearance in darkness. On older examples, the lume can develop a very attractive aged patina, which is one reason collectors find these watches particularly appealing, the dial on this model still glows strong even after all these years.

The 982.113 has a pewter-coloured PVD-coated case, measuring roughly 38 mm, with a rotating dive bezel and date display. Early examples have the thicker first-generation 1000-series case, along with a relatively plain caseback and an unsigned crown. These details help distinguish the 982.113 from later references.

Interestingly, the 982.113 is an early quartz Heuer, using a Swiss quartz movement. The 1000 series was introduced in 1979, and Heuer produced a large variety of divers throughout the 1980s, with quartz becoming an important part of the range.

PVD COATING

PVD coating stands for Physical Vapour Deposition, a process where a very thin, durable layer is bonded to the surface of a watch case in a vacuum environment. It’s commonly used to give watches a black, grey, or gold finish while also improving surface hardness and scratch resistance. Unlike paint, it doesn’t sit on top of the metal but is fused to it, making it more resilient, although heavy wear or deep scratches can still reveal the steel underneath.

OUR THOUGHTS

Mechanical watches will always have their place. But collecting has never been about choosing sides, it’s about recognising quality, context, and intent. At its best, quartz represents one of the most ambitious chapters in watchmaking history. And as perspectives continue to evolve, the finest examples of vintage quartz watches are finally being appreciated on their own merits. For today’s collector, vintage quartz isn’t a compromise, it’s a confident, considered choice backed by knowledge, care, and experience.